Chapter Text
- The night had been rough. Just barely out of the hospital, and Yugi physically felt better in some ways, but in others he felt much, much worse.
- His chest was tight, fingers fidgety, unoccupied, and nervous. He had to strain the muscles in his face to keep away his twitching mouth and eyes - why was he still about to cry? After everything the Millennium Puzzle’s spirit had told him, he should’ve felt assured enough.
- Let’s be harsh, though - what did it matter? Could he truly trust himself with his own fate after letting the puzzle slip from his fingers so easily?
- He felt his chest tighten further.
- Their shared heart twisting in sorrow.
- Yugi frowned, feeling awful. The spirit was still there with him, but much fainter. He’d intended to leave his headmate alone so they’d get some rest, unfortunately it just left Yugi worried.
- He needed the spirit right there with him - but he also needed to sleep!
- And those two things just couldn’t physically happen at the same time.
- He could only really hear and see him, nothing tangible, there would be nothing when he closed his eyes, and so he would never close his eyes.
- That was just as not doable as falling asleep on his own, but he couldn’t settle for an anxious all-nighter, that just wasn’t an option.
- He had to settle the heartache…
- …Even if it was a bit embarrassing.
- This was absolutely not the right use for a spare pillow. Oh well, it was soft and squishy and Yugi was already crawling back into bed with it.
- He tucked it under the blankets alongside his own body, waiting to lay his head down before wrapping his arms around the pillow.
- A beat of ease.
- This was what he needed.
- It wasn’t quite right yet. Closing his eyes, he tried to picture the spirit the way he always would, except now in his arms. Safe in his arms.
- With how the pillow pressed up to him, Yugi’s visualisation had his head at…shoulder level with the spirit. It was so indescribably comforting, but he needed the feeling to be accurate, so he shifted it upwards.
- He stopped at chest level - that seemed about right.
- Perfect, even. The idea of Yugi keeping his partner close and secure took a snug space in his mind, fitting perfectly like, for lack of a better comparison, pieces of a puzzle.
- And oh, it was so deeply comfortable too. He couldn’t help it as he snuggled his face forward. His head lifted just a bit, resting instead on the surface of his pillow placebo.
- His head on Yami’s chest.
- Hearing their heart beat.
- It was so easy to let go of his worry, to just curl into a fetal position and let his consciousness drift away…
- …Not quite to sleep.